


Splash Down

by orphan_account



Category: Free!
Genre: Adventure, Battlefield, Bets & Wagers, Friendship, M/M, Romance, Water Guns, teenage boys being teenage boys
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-19
Updated: 2014-08-31
Packaged: 2018-02-13 12:18:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2150460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inside a forest, there are many places to hide, but there are even more places to get soaked. The victor of the First Annual All-Out Iwatobi/Samezuka Water War will be determined by skill, speed, stamina, strength...and willpower.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Declaration

**Rules of the First Annual All-Out Iwatobi/Samezuka Water War!**

1) The game will begin on the arena perimeter, two teams, four members each. The War-Master will ring the bell, and all soldiers will then run to the weapons pile.

2) Weapons are first come, first serve. All weapons will have their own advantages and disadvantages, so _choose wisely_. No trading! You're stuck with what you get!

3) All weapons are empty upon receiving them. Use the river to fill your weapon, but be careful! Filling your weapon doesn't put you in time out or in a safe zone; _there are no safe zones in WAR_.

4) You can get shot three times! Only three! But if you get shot in the head once, it's CURTAINS!

5) You get one life! After you've been hit by three shots (or one headshot) you are _DEAD_. _Forever_! No zombies! Not this time, anyway.

6) When you're dead, stay that way. Don't leave the arena. Stay on the ground. Stay dead. And no overkill; respect the dead. Don't shoot a soldier that's already dead, unless it's Rei. Get him good~!

_WINNERS GAIN ETERNAL GLORY FOR A WHOLE YEAR!_  
 _LOSERS PAY FOR JOINT PRACTICE LUNCHES FOR A WHOLE YEAR!_

_**LET THE WAR BEGIN!** _

. . . . . . .

"There are so many things wrong with this..."

Rin held the paper in his hands, speaking aloud, mostly to himself, but partially to Sousuke, who lay in the bunk above him.

There had been six of these papers, these flyers, outside Samezuka's gates alone. Six. Six there, one on every classroom door, and one on the door of the locker room. One of Rin's question was ' _What the hell is this_?,' but a more pressing one, with Samezuka's keycards and strict security, was ' _How the hell did Nagisa get in here_?' Because this was _clearly_ Nagisa's handiwork...

"You actually took one down?"

Sousuke's voice filled the air, and Rin grunted a small sound that meant 'Yes.'

"They're fuckin' everywhere, it's not like anyone'll miss 'em...or ya know, just stop ignoring them."

He looked up when he heard a heavy creaking, and he saw that his friend was peering down, scrutinizing the flyer with narrowed eyes...a Water War. Weapons and soldiers. And then he asked Rin a question that he honestly was not expecting.

"We gonna do it?"

Rin hesitated before laughing sharply. Sousuke was joking, he had to be

"Hell no, we're not. This cuts into practice; you know we can't afford that. Good one, though."

"One afternoon off is going to jeopardize our entire season?"

. . .

"...you're...you're being serious, whoa, _what the_ _fuck_?"

Rin stood and turned so he could face Sousuke, bewildered by this response. Sousuke wanted to do this? Enter some stupid water gun contest with Iwatobi? He did, didn't he? Rin could tell when Sousuke was being serious, and he looked just as serious now as he had when joining the Samezuka Swim Team.

"... _why_ , though? This is stupid, we don't need—"

"You don't _actually_ think it's stupid. You want to do this just as much as I do."

Rin scowled, feeling embarrassment creep up into his cheeks as Sousuke kept on, though now his friend had rolled over onto his back, staring at the ceiling that was only a couple feet above him.

"You actually want to go over there and kick their asses...just like a relay."

"Hey—"

"You want to win, and you want to show 'em that Samezuka's the best at everything, not just swimming."

"Okay, you can st-"

"And you wanna show Nanase some other sights, don't you?"

Rin's jaw dropped in disgust at Sousuke's slight smirk, and his friend has already begun to shield himself, grinning brightly as he was pummeled over and over by Rin's pillow.

" _Shut up_ , I told you it's not like that!"

"I know you did!"

Rin's clutched the pillow in his hands, panting from the sudden exertion and flurry of emotions, standing and contemplating until he hurled the pillow at Sousuke one last time before storming toward the door.

"Where ya goin'?"

"...I'm calling Nagisa...but if we lose and I gotta pay for those guys' food for a year, it's _your_ fault. Know that."

Rin pointed a finger accusingly at Sousuke, who only reacted with a determined smile, which almost sent Rin into an even deeper pit of frustration, but then his friend spoke up.

"Then we won't lose."

. . . . . . .

Rei stared at the seven flyers that were pasted up on the school's bulletin board ( _why_? Why _here_ , advertising to the school, when it was really only the swim club's business?) and sighed heavily. Nagisa had promised that he'd let Rei proofread the rules, and he had, but...there were a good many things that had apparently added to them post-inspection.

"Rei-chan!"

The sound of jogging feet on wood, as well as a familiar voice, jolted Rei up from his reading, and there Nagisa was, coming up to him with his usual smile and energy.

"Good morning, Rei-chan!"

"Good morning...Nagisa-kun, why did you make an addition to our rules, and _more importantly_ , why does it single me out as—?"

"Details, Rei-chan, _details_!"

"Details are exactly what I want, yes..."

Nagisa patted Rei's back, smiling and making Rei wonder how and why he'd allowed himself to go this far down with him.

"Well, if you want _important_ details, Rin-chan texted me and woke me up!"

"You forgot to set your alarm again, didn't you..."

"Details. Anyway, it said, ' _We're in_.'"

"They're going to participate?!"

" _Yeah_!"

Nagisa was bouncing on his heels now.

"It's perfect! It's gonna be him and his friend Sou-chan, and they're gonna find two more people and meet us at Haru-chan's house this Friday! Three day weekends are the _best_!"

Rei smiled, his day brightening just by the sight of how ecstatic Nagisa seemed, and he nodded, adjusting his glasses as they slipped down the bridge of his nose.

"Iwatobi versus Samezuka in an all-out water gun battle... _I'll do my best_!"

"Yay!"

Nagisa snatched Rei's wrist away from his face and began pulling him down the hall.

"We gotta tell Mako-chan and Haru-chan!"

" _N_ - _Nagisa-kun_ , _my arm_!"

. . . . . . .

"M-Me? But...but why? Guns? I thought we couldn't—"

" _Water_ guns, Ai."

"Oh..."

Well, now Nitori felt foolish. Guns were outlawed in Japan, but water weaponry was perfectly fine...he should've known. He took Rin's flyer (one of the many Nitori had only really glanced around campus today) and read over it. Sousuke stood behind Rin, looking as...well, him as ever. Sousuke and Nitori had exchanged a few small conversations, so it was fairly hard to read him sometimes.

"...w-we can _die_!?"

"Yeah. Not so sure about how that's gonna work, but eh."

Nitori glanced up from the rules to glance at Rin, who was scratching the back on his head nervously. Sousuke was just sort of staring him down...

"I...I don't know, Senpai, I—"

"If you don't wanna do it, just say so."

Sousuke spoke up, making Nitori jump, startled.

"A-ah...i-it's not that I don't...want to, I just...I don't-...what if I—?"

"If you're worried, don't be. It's just a game. This isn't like a relay or a race; if you mess up, you-"

"Die. You die if you mess up."

Now both Rin and Nitori jumped. Rin spun around, looking at Sousuke with a raised eyebrow. He'd sounded so serious, deathly, even.

"Dude. What's with you?"

"What's with _you_? Are you really going into this being like ' _It's just a game_?' What's the point if you don't take it seriously?"

"Sousuke…"

"I don't want in unless you put everything into this."

Nitori stood, waiting for the response. This had gotten intense _very_ quickly, and he wasn't quite sure what to say or do.

"Look, you've been acting weird ever since I took the flyer. If you've got something to say, say it."

"I'm _saying_ I don't want to go into a competition and not give it my all."

"It's not a _competition_ , it's a fucking _water gun fight_ with my _friends_ , calm down."

"You should be motivated _because_ they're your friends!"

"Look, man, _calm your shit_ , this is _not_ -"

" _I'll do it_!"

Nitori shouted into the argument, bowing so that he couldn't see his seniors' gazes whirl toward him. He fingers were trembling, the flyer rustling in his grip.

"I...I want to join the war. I'll give it my all, and... _and I'm willing to die for my team_!"

"Whoa, who's dying?!"

" _Shit_..."

Sousuke muttered bitterly as a new voice filled the air, and then frantic running steps. Everyone turned to see Momotarou running up from the other end of the hallway, calling out "Hi, Senpai!" as he noticed Nitori.

"Who's dying, what's up?"

"No one's dying, Momo..."

Rin spoke with a sigh, and then quietly surveyed the freshman, reviewing how quickly he'd bolted down the hall just now.

"...how fast are you?"

He received a shrug.

"I dunno. Fast enough, I guess. Do you mean in the water? My last time was—"

"On land."

"Oh. Uh...I dunno, pretty fast."

"Rin, _don't_."

"Why the hell _not_!? He could help! I thought you wanted to do this!"

"Do what? Is something happening? Senpai, you look pretty messed up. What's with the face, haha!"

He pushed Nitori's shoulder, who stumbled, still filled with worry.

After a moment of Rin and Sousuke staring each other down, Sousuke finally scowled and glanced away, leaving Rin to turn to the other two boys.

"Ai. You said you were in?"

"Y-...yes!"

"Momo. Have you read any of the flyers around campus today?"

"Yeah! There were like, eight in our hall! What's that all about?"

"Do you think you could offer something good for our team?"

"...you want me to join!?"

Rin nodded, and he wasn't surprised when Momotarou bowed and shouted "I'm in!" Poor Nitori flinched, and Rin sighed again before smiling softly.

"...all right...looks like we have our team. Meet in front of our dorm tomorrow after class. They said the rendezvous point was at their vice-captain's house."

"Nanase-kun?"

"Yeah."

"...okay."

"Okay! We're gonna win this thi-...wait...if we lose, we gotta pay for lunch for a _year_!?"

Rin frowned.

"Yeah. Did you not read that?"

" _No way_ , I don't wanna do that!"

"You already said yes, you can't back out!"

"But I don't wanna bum off my mom for those guys!"

"Then don't let us lose."

Sousuke spoke up again, sounding particularly pissed, not looking at anyone in particular, and Momotarou swallowed, turning to Nitori.

"...Senpai...you're doing this, too?"

"...y-yeah..."

. . .

Momotarou looked from the flyer to Rin, then to Sousuke, and then to Nitori...then back to flyer...then to Rin again, smiling wildly.

"Count me in! I won't let us l—...lose...“

The confidence in his words diminished slightly as he saw the look Sousuke was giving him, a look that said, ' _You'd better not_.' Rin didn't see and merely smiled.

"All right...no backing out. See you guys tomorrow. Come on, Sousuke."

Rin gestured for his friend to follow, and he did, leaving the underclassmen in a state of mild confusion and anxiety.

"So...this is like...water guns?"

"Y-yeah, that's what Rin-senpai said..."

"... _awesome_."

. . . . . . .

"...Haru?"

Haruka looked over to Makoto, their pace slowing as they made their home from school. He faced forward, knowing what was coming. What Makoto was going to ask.

"I want to do this."

"...all right."

He received a small laugh, and then Makoto looked skyward.

"This is going to be fun...and it'll be fun getting to know the other people of Samezuka, won't it? Nagisa told me they got their team together already. This seems like a good way to spend our last year all together."

. . .

"And you'll get to compete with Rin outside the pool."

. . .

Makoto hummed his laughter again; Haruka had looked toward the ocean that time. Rin was definitely a motivating factor in all this...it was still a mystery as to why Nagisa had suddenly pushed for a Water Gun War, but...well, Nagisa was Nagisa, and it wasn't going to do anyone any harm. This actually sounded like fun. Makoto was looking forward to it, and even if Haruka wasn't saying it, he was, too.

"...Makoto."

"Hm?"

"...nothing."

"...alright then."

Makoto wouldn't pry. Words like that usually meant Haruka would tell him later.

On they walked, the sun setting alongside them as they walked through their sleepy little town. Nagisa had set the locale tomorrow as "Forest." No specific area, but just..."Forest." All he'd said was "Details, don't worry!" and bid them farewell.

The boys reached the familiar stone steps, parting ways, and Makoto smiled.

"Let's do our best tomorrow, Haru!"

Haruka nodded, ascending towards his home as he gave Makoto a short wave.

...tomorrow.

Tomorrow, Iwatobi and Samezuka would enter into a war zone. Who would win?

. . .

Haruka entered his empty house, quietly placing his backpack on its respective hook in the foyer before moving into the kitchen to make himself some late dinner...and maybe some rations for tomorrow. Actually...yes. They would need rations. Haruka pulled out some more ingredients (i.e., more than just mackerel) and got to work. Mackerel for himself...with rice, and a plum. Makoto would happily eat the same, but rather than a plum, Haruka included a tangerine.

Nagisa's was a little tricky, because Haruka always had him pegged as picky, but with a small bit of inspiration he'd concocted something sweet but healthy (meaning he'd made almost the same dish as his own and Makoto's, but he'd included a strawberry and doused it all in that gross protein powder he'd wolfed down a few weeks ago; Gou had given them all packets to use on their own, but Haruka...well, Haruka was rather picky, himself, he supposed).

And he made sure to arrange Rei's food in a shape. He'd probably go on and on about psychological morale otherwise.

...so everyone essentially had the same meal, but with little differences. That would do, right?

. . .

...maybe just one more lunch. Just in case.

. . . . . . .

The following day was a typical one. No signs of oddities or abnormalities. Classes played out normally for both Samezuka's side and Iwatobi's...the boys went to school, answered questions, asked some of their own, and soon enough, they were out their respective gates, all heading for Haruka Nanase's home. The stone stairs were steep, but it was good exercise.

Samezuka's team walked together, clad in the white shirts they'd suddenly been told via text to wear, with the upperclassmen leading a few paces ahead, which left Nitori and Momotarou (mostly Momotarou) to chat about them under their breath.

"The captain definitely knows his way around here."

"Well, he and Nanase used to be on the same swim team."

"Huh!? Seriously!?"

Nitori nodded.

"Yeah. Then Rin-senpai moved to Australia...they're still friends, though...I think."

"Whoa...that's epic...like... _movie_ -grade shit. Two friends, forced apart, and then they're pitted against each other in war!"

"It's...not really like that—"

"It's _totally_ like that!"

"Speak up, I can't hear every breath you guys take..."

The underclassmen flinched as their seniors turned, Rin speaking gruffly as Sousuke just stared; of course they'd overheard. Rin glared at first, but his eyes softened as he sighed and looked back ahead, gesturing for Nitori and Momotarou to jog closer.

"Haru's a friend. That's all. You don't have to whisper about it like it's something taboo."

"So _he_ says."

Sousuke's murmured jab earned him a kick to the ankle, delivered by Rin alongside a flushed scowl.

"Shut _up_."

"'Kay."

The group stopped at the top, taking in the sight of the house for a moment before Rin sighed again, moving ahead as everyone followed.

No one knew what lay ahead, but they went on. Unaware. Unprepared.

. . .

Rin pressed the doorbell once, waited...knocked, shouted.

"Haru! We're—"

The door flew open, and Rin was immediately pulled in by hands, pairs of hands, more than one person. With a cry, he was sucked into the home, the door slamming shut behind him as shrieks of ' _Senpai_!' and ' _Captain_!' filled the air. Sousuke tensed, hearing sounds of chaos from just inside the door, but before he could ready himself (he could definitely bust the door down if he had to), it opened again, and there stood Rin amongst the Iwatobi Swim Club, disheveled, frustrated...and with two streaks of black paint under his eyes. The others looked the same, only far less upset. Rin whirled on them, shouting not so much out of anger but rather, shock.

" _What the fuck_ , _you guys_!?"

"Protocol!" came the chipper response from Nagisa as Makoto chuckled nervously.

"We knew you probably wouldn't have done it if we'd just asked, so—"

" _That's not a—_ "

"It looks good."

Haruka spoke quietly, and that shut Rin the hell up. He stood up straighter, huffing as he finally looked to his startled teammates; even Sousuke looked on edge.

"...well...get in here, you guys are next."

" _Eh_?!"

" _Awesome_!"

"Great..."

. . . . . . .

"Welcome to the first annual Water War!"

Nagisa raised his fist in the air. All eight boys were gathered around Haruka's kotatsu, a small tray of snacks laid out in the middle. Rei sat beside Nagisa, stiff as a board, considering Sousuke was on his left. Makoto and Haruka shared one side, which put them across from Rin and Sousuke. Nitori and Momotarou were across Rei and Nagisa, and poor Nitori; the boy couldn't raise his head for a second. Everyone's war paint had been applied, and now Nagisa was running over the rules once more.

"Our ride will be here shortly, but before we go, one more introduction must be made!"

"Just get to it..."

Nagisa grinned and hopped up, jogging over to the hall door, which now had a silhouette behind it.

"Introducing...the _War_ - _Master_!"

He flung the door open, revealing none other than...

"Hello, everyone!"

" _Gou_!? What the...why are you—?"

Rin questioned his little sister, who only put her hands on her hips. She was dressed like the rest, wearing a cute white shirt with white cutoff shorts, perfectly accented by red flats.

"I'm their manager! I can't just let them go off doing willy-nilly."

"Gou-chan's gonna be the War-Master! If someone gets hurt, she'll be ready with first aid!"

" _H_ - _hurt_?"

Makoto and Nitori parroted almost in unison, to which Nagisa only nodded.

"Like if someone trips or gets eaten by a bear!"

" _Bear_?!"

"Nagisa-kun, there aren't any bears nearby-"

"Knock on wood, Rei-chan! Or the bears will get you for sure!"

" _What_?!"

" _Knock on wood_ , _Rei_ - _chan_!"

Rei rapped his knuckles against the kotatsu, and then Momotarou spoke up, twinkling in his eyes.

"So...if I get hurt...Gou-san will nurse me back to health? That...that doesn't sound so ba-"

" _Easy_ , _Momo_..."

"Uh...I-I have a question."

Nitori shakily raised his hand, attempting to diffuse any potential animosity Rin could have towards Momotarou and his intentions.

"It says 'you stay dead'...that means you're out for the rest of the game, right?"

"You sure are! And your fellow men can't gather your body until the day's over!"

"Like...when the game is over...?"

"No, the _day_."

"...I don't—...what—?"

"Can we _please_ just get to the point?"

Sousuke's voice rang above the rest, effectively silencing the room. Nagisa pouted, making Rei tug at his pant leg.

"Presentation is everything, Sou-chan."

" _Sou_ - _chan_?"

"Nagisa-kun-"

"The point is to have fun."

A new voice joined the mix, and it was Haruka's. Everyone's head turned when he spoke, especially Rin's.

"It's our last year all together...Nagisa thought it would be fun. Don't you think so, Rin?"

"..."

Rin cleared his throat, slightly taken aback by the suddenness of everyone's attention on him.

"Y-yeah, we'll have fun."

He grinned, resting his arms on the kotatsu and leaning forward, staring him down, giving him a once-over.

"It'll be fun not paying for lunch for a year, won't it, guys?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Hell yeah!"

"..."

Sousuke's gaze bored into Rin, then over to Haruka, whose gaze only moved away from Rin once before going "Right."

A knock at the door made everyone's head turn, and Nagisa shouted, "The time has come!" before darting toward the foyer. Rin pulled himself up from the kotatsu with a small grunt, watching as everyone headed for the front door...whereas Haruka was going the opposite way, towards his kitchen, and...Rin found himself following, or at least until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"What's up?"

Sousuke stared at him inquisitively, looking unamused as Rin smiled.

"Bathroom. Don't know if there'll be one where we're goin'."

...why had he lied just now? Why in the world? It had just slipped out so casually, too. Rin hadn't even intended to lie; hell, he was probably gonna try going now just so it wouldn't be a total lie.

"I'll be out in a few."

"..."

Sousuke's grip left him, and Rin waited until he was out the door before heading into the kitchen. There Haruka was, standing at the counter, and it looked like he had five lunch boxes ready and made...he was just sort of packing them up now, bundling two at a time, with the spare on it's own.

"Hey."

"What was _that_ all about?"

Rin got right to the point, leaning against the doorframe, hands in his pockets. Haruka turned his head to look at him, gave him a once over, before returning to the lunch bundles. At least _look_ at him...

"I just needed to know that you'd be having fun."

"Since when does that matter?"

Rin spoke with a laugh, moving to hover over Haruka's shoulder, slinging an arm over his shoulder and getting a small grunt of disapproval in return.

"What are those for?"

"The team."

"...we're not gonna be out there that long, though? It's kinda overkill."

The friendly shoulder sling became more of a cling when Rin brought his other arm around him, resting his head on Haruka's chin, almost as if he were bored.

"There's one for you, so be quiet."

"...you made one for me?"

"Consider it an act of goodwill."

"..."

Rin sputtered into a laugh, standing up straight and slapping Haruka on the back. He grinned wider at the sight of his friend's soft scowl.

"We're not goin' easy on you guys, you know. And if you really wanted us to, food's not the best way to make me consider it."

"I know that."

Haruka turned from the sink to Rin, their eyes meeting for just a bit too long before Rin chuckled quietly to himself.

"Right. Come on, we're makin' 'em wait."

One more friendly slap to the back and they walked out into the sunlight. Both teams had already loaded up into a rather large van, the side doors opened to let in a nice cross breeze. There were no seats, or if there had been, they'd been removed.

"... _that_ looks legal..."

Rin's voice wavered as they walked, but Haruka didn't answer, only climbed into the vehicle. Rin rolled his eyes and followed suit.

Okay, there were two seats, one for the driver and one for the passenger. The driver of this van was none other than Iwatobi's old swim coach, Goro Sasabe, and beside him in the passenger seat was Gou.

"Everybody buckled? Just kidding, _let's go_!"

With those reassuring words, and after Nagisa slid the door shut, the van took off, jostling the teenagers it was transporting. The boys were sitting on the floor, Samezuka on one side, Iwatobi on the other.

...and it was the most uncomfortable silence any of them had ever endured. Even Nagisa was quiet, but that was mostly because he was humming, patting his palms on his knees as he was bumped around by the curves in the road. Rock music floated softly from the radio, and Sasabe himself was singing along. Gou certainly looked comfortable in her seat, occasionally tucking her hair behind her ear, a first-aid kit resting on her lap.

Every boy was shoulder to shoulder, and they just had to deal with it.

. . . . . . .

Sousuke surveyed them all, their opponents. The tall one was Iwatobi's Captain, Tachibana. He could be formidable, considering they were about the same height, though he seemed a little less lean than himself...he'd be like himself, a bit less on the stealthy side and possessing more in terms of power. He was still a threat, of course.

Formidable, but manageable.

Nagisa. The blonde one, he was the one behind all this. He was small, probably agile...quick on his feet. How was his focus, though? Probably not good, considering the spacey look on his face right now. What could he really do without a clear objective? He'd just be out there shooting everyone and anyone...he'd probably shoot his own teammates for the sake of getting a laugh.

Without a proper motive, Nagisa was as good as 'dead.'

...Nanase. There was no reading him. He was just sitting there beside Tachibana, staring forward, sometimes out the window, and then other times at Rin. What would his strategy be? Could he be prepared for it? Of course. He could take him out no problem; hell, maybe even Nitori could.

Threat number one; rouge unknown.

And the one with the glasses, he was their butterfly swimmer. Tall, built, with what appeared to be unnatural focus. If Sousuke had to take a guess, he'd actually be quite the opponent, perhaps the most lethal of all, if it weren't for that laser-focus; normally it'd be fantastic for swimming, diving, but with seven other players...

. . .

...he'd be the first one down. For sure.

Assessing his own teammates, they clearly had the better chance. He wouldn't say much about himself (he knew his ability. There was no need to doubt what he could do), but he'd go ahead and address everyone else.

Nitori. If there was any possibility of Team Samezuka possessing a weak link in the chain, it'd be him, but somehow Sousuke felt they would be all right. That is, if that declaration of 'willing to die' meant anything. If Nitori were nervous, he was hiding it rather well, sitting with his legs tucked close to his body, quiet as a mouse.

Potential weak link, but in it for the long haul.

Momotarou...the younger brother of the apparently great Seijuurou Mikoshiba, former captain of the Samezuka Swim Team. His athleticism had showed itself well in the past few weeks, but there was something off about the kid...probably his youth, his ability to not particularly take things seriously. Relays were on thing, but something like this...well, maybe not. He'd been ready to back out over hearing what the consequences were, but then he'd turned that fear into drive.

One-track mind, but with passion.

Rin was their captain. Sousuke knew him better than anyone. He could keep a level-head under pressure, and he'd proven himself able to lead a group. His stamina was impressive, as well as his ability to take control of bad situation. If there were trouble, Rin would get them out of it.

If he and Rin stuck with each other, they'd be unstoppable, so that was how it'd be.

. . . . . . .

Finally, the van seemed to be slowing down, until it lurched to a halt and jolted all the boys into each other's sides (Sousuke held his own, but Rei ended up being pressed against the rear wall by a giggling Nagisa). Gou was the first one out, hopping down from her seat to the ground and jogging around to slide the door open.

They were on something of a dirt road, surrounded by trees. Nagisa was the first one out, laughing manically as he leaped to the ground. The rest filed out, chatting amongst themselves and then quieting down all at once.

"I'll come for you guys when this is all over! Stay safe out there!"

And the van sped off, kicking up dirt and dust in its wake.

. . .

...there were a _lot_ of trees...

Rin was actually fairly impressed. If this was supposed to be an all-out war, this was an excellent place to have it. The foliage would cover them well, not to mentions the terrain could give them various advantages.

"Nagisa sure can pick a locale..."

Rin muttered under his breath, prompting Haruka to glance over at him for a moment or two before walking towards the dense forest.

" _I_ picked it."

"This way, everybody!"

Before Rin could respond, Nagisa was charging ahead, and everyone else jogged to keep up. Rin scoffed, letting that new information process.

Haruka has chosen this place? But it seemed so... _legitimate_. It was strategic perfection; the only better place would be like, an abandoned city or something. Some sort of urban jungle. But out here, these were _natural_ elements.

. . .

Speaking of, it looked kinda overcast all of a sudden. Rin looked up at the sky, then over to Haruka.

"Hey. What's the plan if it rains?"

Haruka opened his mouth to answer, but Nagisa beat him to the punch with, "War knows no limits!"

"...so...what, are we supposed to do, just get rained on? How the hell are we supposed to know what's a shot and what's rain? Wouldn't people be able to get away with that? What proof would there be?"

"Do you think you'll need to cheat like that?"

Haruka spoke up now, wearing the tiniest smirk on his face that only made Rin return it with a laugh.

"Hell no. Just gotta worry about you guys."

His arm slipped over Haruka's shoulder as they walked, deciding to keep the trash-talk going.

"You know, hiring's pretty tricky this time of year. After we win, it'd...ya know, probably be better for you to find some place part-time. That way it's not so hard on your wallet to pay for me. Maybe the convenience store? You'd look good in the uniform, stripes and whatnot."

"You should see if the sports store is hiring, I'm sure they need a greeter, and with a winning smile like tha—"

"Hey, that's low!"

Rin laughed, though, because it _had_ been a pretty good crack. Haruka was making jokes with him, and...well, that was better than any punch line.

"Rin."

He looked over as Sousuke spoke, and he understood immediately. His arm came off Haruka, stepping back over to his own teammates.

"This is where it ends, Haru."

Haruka only nodded, looking back forward as they all reached something of clearing.

It was a large spot, shaded by trees but open to the sunshine streaming down through spots of clouds. A river wove through the middle of the woods, and sparkled brightly, its babbling mingling with the cheerful cries of Momotarou and Nitori as they already started 'exploring' the area.

In the middle of the river was a large boulder, and on that boulder were their weapons. Eight different water guns, all fake and plastic and colorful...

Rin saw Haruka eyeing a long blue one; good, let him. That red one beside it looked like it had been _made_ for Rin...and he couldn't help but smirk when he saw Sousuke gazing at what looked to be a water bazooka. _That_ would suit him well.

Rin patted his friend's back and beckoned Nitori and Momotarou back to them when he saw the Iwatobi group doing the same. Gou was climbing into some sort of lifeguard's chair, and when she was comfortably seated, she cupped her hands as makeshift megaphone and shouted, "Five minutes to War!"

. . .

"Okay. They're fast, but we're faster. Especially on land. Sousuke, I want you on that bazooka, ya got me? Momo, Nitori, go for something lightweight, and let's hope they have enough power to shoot far. If you can, avoid direct confrontation; try to stay low, covered, whatever it takes. Got it? And don't fill up here; run along the river until you know you're safe, then fill up, and move."

"Roger!"

"Yes!"

And a firm nod from Sousuke.

...all right. They had this. Rin glanced over to the Iwatobi group and flinched; Haruka was staring directly at him, no mistaking it. Their gazes stayed fixed on one another before Haruka finally broke away; had he even been paying attention Makoto? Makoto had been the one talking. Damn Haruka...

"One minute to War! Please take your marks!"

'Marks' were standing in an orderly line, side by side, about fifty feet from the river. Nagisa was jogging in place, whereas Rei was in proper track start position. Nitori attempted to mimic him, but he looked far less professional. Momtarou was just bouncing around, shouting things like "Let's go, let's go!" and "Check it out, Gou-san, I'm gonna win this thing!" Sousuke was stretching out his legs and arms, limbering up, watching Rin out of the corner of his eye as he did the same...and Haruka as well. Rogue Number One. Makoto turned to his friends and said "Let's do our best," before turning to Samezuka, smile radiating confidence and determination as he added, "We won't lose!"

' _Keep dreaming_ , _Makoto_.'

Rin kept his thoughts to himself, at least when it came to Makoto. Haruka however...he glanced at Haruka again, who was also taking the time to stretch and be ready, and then their eyes met for what felt like the hundredth time today. Rin sent him a toothy grin before looking ahead, eyes locked on the red gun. Gou had begun counting down behind them; ten, nine, eight—

"If you want, I'll let you get a free shot in, Haru."

"Don't need it."

-five, four, three-

"Good luck, Rin."

"Don't need it."

Gou raised her hand in the air, clutching an airhorn and pressing the button rapidly, the sound piercing the air as the boys darted forward. Rei had a lead on all of them, his shoes splashing into the river and taking up two guns, a small purple phaser type weapon for himself, and tossing off a rather wide pink and green double barrel to Nagisa, who whooped and darted east. Rei followed him without a second thought.

Sousuke had his bazooka seconds after the duo vanished into the woods, though he hesitated. After a moment, he stooped down and uncorked the stopper, using the river's flow to fill up while ignoring the sudden cry of " _What are you doing_!?" from Rin, who was running alongside Haruka, evenly matched as they swooped up their individual weapons. Makoto saw that Sousuke had the current advantage of filling up and immediately went down, filling up his green gun that had the resemblance of a machine gun, and waiting, mumbling a mantra of "Come on, _come on_."

"Makoto!"

He and Rin were sidestepping now; if their guns had water, shots would be firing right now, _dozens_ , but now they were just playing a waiting game, waiting for their partners, waiting for a first strike.

"Damn it, Sousuke, _let's go_!"

" _Just gimme a sec_!"

He and Makoto were flickering their glances from their weapons to each other. No one really noticed Momotarou and Nitori peeking out from behind a tree; this was far too intense to just run from. Nitori had a straight-up pink pistol, small but probably effective, whereas Momotarou had something orange with three barrels.

"Senpai...senpai, we can probably help 'em—"

"Rin-senpai said fill up and move—"

" _Sousuke's_ not listening, why should we!? Come on, we're filled to the brim!"

"Momo, _don't_!"

With some kind of manic battle cry, Momotarou sped out from his spot behind the tree, gun blazing, and every head turned.

"Rin-senpai, I got your ba—!"

" _Now_!"

All at once, Rei and Nagisa somersaulted out from behind a nearby tree, almost choreographed, guns raised toward Momo, who jumped and let out a startled " _Shit_!"

"Haru-chan, get moving!"

"Haruka-senpai!"

Makoto's eyes flew up, and when he felt his gun was fairly heavily, sealed it and bolted forward. Sousuke scowled, standing up and aiming around quickly. The bazooka was massive, heavy without the water and even more so with.

"Haru, let's go!"

Rin and Haru's standoff came to an abrupt end, Rin huffing in frustration as he turned and ran off with Sousuke and Nitori into the woods. Momotarou didn't move until Nagisa's and Rei's barrels were off him, and he bolted off into the shadows crying " _Wait up_!"

The Iwatobi team only stood in the clearing for a moment longer before using the time to fill up.

"Haru, are you alright?"

"Don't put yourself on the line like that."

"...right. I won't forget...it was kinda fun, though."

"Rei-chan, that was _awesome_! You looked so cool!"

"You as well...I _told_ you I'd watched all of those foreign war movies you let me borrow! I've learned!"

"It shows, haha-!"

"We need to move."

Haruka interrupted the moment with an unusual tone of seriousness, standing up with his blue rifle, the insides sloshing.

"They're gonna come back. We're sitting ducks right here."

. . .

" _Right_!"

The response was simultaneous and unanimous as everyone broke into a grin. Once their weapons were filled, they darted off together, disappearing from sight.

All this time, Gou had been watching, silent but anticipating. That...that had actually been _very_ entertaining, intense...like a movie.

She sat back and sighed, applying some sunscreen and getting her umbrella ready, just in case.

. . .

It certainly _did_ look like a storm was brewing...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> I can't stop.
> 
> Someone stop me.


	2. Skirmish

"What the _fuck_ was _that_ back there?"

Rin shouted, waving his gun bluntly toward Sousuke, who was leaning against a tree and looking more than annoyed by the sudden commotion, a deep scowl on his face. Nitori and Momotarou stood far back, the freshman hiding behind his senior, quaking, before Rin turned toward them. Even though Nitori had nothing to be faulted for, he flinched anyway. The trees shaded them all, and one would have that that it was much later in the evening than it actually was.

"And what the _hell_ did you think you were doing? I told all of you to fall _back_!"

"You...you looked like you needed help, that tall guy was—"

"I had him covered. Don't put yourself out in the open like that."

When Sousuke spoke, Rin turned right back to him, eyes wide with disbelief before they turned down in a glare.

"...so what were _you_ doing ? Huh? You had the same plan he did, didn't you? I didn't need backup, it only got bad back there because you didn't fall back."

"I was thinking _ahead_."

"I thought you wanted to take this seriously!"

"I _am_ taking this seriously!"

The boys were spitting their words, getting closer, angrier, waving their guns until finally a cry of " _Stop it_!" erupted from Nitori, and surprisingly enough, it worked.

"...we _all_ acted badly...we all should've just listened Rin-senpai and fell back...Tachibana-kun wouldn't have started filling up if Yamazaki-senpai—...h-hadn't..."

He swallowed dryly as he felt Sousuke's glare narrowing, but Nitori kept talking anyway.

"And I should've done more to keep Momo behind...but...all our intentions were good. They were good, but they were disorganized."

. . .

Nitori took a deep breath, finding himself to be calming down considerably. Momotarou's grip (the freshman had been clutching Nitori's shirt from behind, hiding from Rin) loosened, and that was definitely a good sign of change.

"...we're a team, right?"

And it was right then that Nitori's self-assurance reached a peak, because despite every eye being on him, despite everyone listening to his words, and despite him speaking his mind...the response was positive. The atmosphere softened almost immediately, and Rin sighed.

"...you're right...you're right..."

Rin repeated himself, laughing bitterly as he rubbed the back of his head. Sousuke watched him, scowling as he leaned against a nearby tree, bazooka resting over his shoulder.

For a long while, the only sound was the rushing water beside them. Rin did a quick scope of the area before waving his hand toward the muddy bank; his weapon was still bone dry, after all. Nitori and Momotarou followed without hesitation as their captain stooped down to collect ammo, whereas it took Sousuke a moment to convince himself to come over.

"...we all messed up, but if we want to, we can all learn from that. We can't all go doing what we want, because we're a team. We have to _plan_ together, _work_ together, _strategize_ together...no going off on our own, no diving in head first...no renegade bullshit."

Rin stood, pumping the gun for a few moments before testing its shot, ignoring Sousuke's pointed glare at that last statement. Yes, it had been passive-aggressive, but it had been true.

The stream, solid and strong, hit a tree that was about twenty feet away, making Momotarou let out an impressed whistle. Rin examined the weapon for a moment before he inhaled upon a small realization.

"All right, here's what's gonna happen right now. We're all gonna get acquainted with our weapons. Figure out these advantages and disadvantages Nagisa was talking about...Sousuke, you're full, so you can go first."

Sousuke opened his mouth, about to call out Rin for calling him out so much, but he bit his tongue and chose to just breathe instead. After his moment of reflection, he lowered the bazooka, pumped it hard, and aimed it toward the same tree. He pulled the trigger and watched as a hard jet blasted against the trunk, spraying every which way from the excessive force. After that, he turned toward a farther trunk, pumped again, and hit the bark just as squarely, despite the added distance.

"...fifty foot range, maybe sixty...took a hell of a long time to fill, but...yeah, look at it. It's all power. And four nozzles, but I'm not gonna be messin' with that."

He slung the weapon back over his shoulder, the water inside making a heavy ' _glug_ ' as he did so. Rin nodded. Heavy, powerful...long fill-time.

"Try not to let it get to empty. Momo, you're up."

"Oh. O-okay..."

Momotarou nodded, jogging up beside Sousuke and taking aim at the tree. As he pulled the trigger, the barrels spun, forming three, rotating spirals through the air that were almost as powerful as Sousuke's.

" _Wicked_! And uh...it didn't take long to fill, but pumping it took awhile."

Rin nodded.

"And three barrels means it'll probably drain faster...like I said earlier, try to avoid direct contact."

"Roger!"

"Um...does anyone else smell that...?"

Nitori raised his hand (it was just habit at this point) and waited for confirmation as everyone sniffed the air quietly.

"...yeah, it's like... _sweet_."

Rin nodded, acknowledging Nitori and watching the relief flash across his face.

"Good, so it wasn't just me...I though it smelled sort of sweet all of a sudden—"

"It doesn't really matter if the river smells like a bed of roses, does it?"

"He was just pointing something out, Sousuke—"

"We're wasting daylight. Shoot, already."

Nitori flinched, nodding at Sousuke's demand and shakily raising his gun toward the tree. The bright pink color of his gun was such a contrast to the reds and oranges and blacks everyone else had, but it wasn't as if his teammates' weapons blended in with their surroundings, either.

Two pumps felt like enough before he fired, and he saw that it was easily the weakest of their guns, the stream barely reaching the roots, let alone the bark. He looked behind him to Sousuke and saw him raise his brow, and then he looked back to the gun, hands trembling even more so than before.

"...I...I-I—"

"Your speciality's close-range, Ai."

"...huh?"

Rin walked forward and took the gun from him, looking it over before pumping it three times, just to see if it would perform any better, and it didn't. It was still just puny squirt compared to everyone else’s jets. Nitori watched him in awed silence before having the gun handed back to him.

"Your gun's more suited to being close-range, and with your running speed and size, it won't be too difficult for you to be stealthy about it. Momo, I want you to back him up. Find a target, get close, but stay hidden. Shoot and run."

. . .

Nitori nodded, stunned as he looked at the weapon that not even a moment ago, he'd thought useless. Now, it seemed like a huge opportunity. Something great to offer, that only _it_ could offer.

Stealth and speed...close range shots...only Nitori could do this.

"Don't stress out so much, okay? You got this."

"...right!"

He nodded firmly, wearing a bright smile as he felt his doubts dissipate. Rin smiled right back, looking over his teammates as he pumped his own gun...everyone seemed calm now, or at least satisfied. Sousuke hadn't said anything or objected, so Rin found it safe to continue.

"Okay. We can still work as a group, but it’ll be more productive to work with our advantages. Let's try and stick with our age groups. Sousuke and I will go after Makoto and Haruka, and I want you two on Rei and Nagisa-"

"Glasses and Blondie? Piece of cake."

"No. _Not_ piece of cake."

Momotarou frowned, and Nitori remained silent. Rin looked serious all of a sudden, and he did another quick scope.

"...they work as a unit. You saw them first hand, Momo. They could've had two shots on you if they'd wanted to, hell, maybe even a headshot. They work together."

He looked between the two underclassmen; Momotarou looked rather frightened all of a sudden, finally realizing that he'd skated right across Death's thin, icy pond.

"They need to be taken out simultaneously. Do _not_ leave one alive without the other. Or...well, let's not think about it. Just take them out together. It'd put us at a better advantage."

"Got it!"

"Yes!"

. . .

"Sounds good."

That was all Rin got out of Sousuke, but it was enough.

"Then let's move. Hey, let's synchronize our watches real qui—"

Rin raised his wrist all too late, only noticing now that no one else had a watch, let alone a bracelet or anything similar...

. . .

"Just kidding."

Rin shoved his hand in his pocket, playing it off cool but losing composure when he heard Sousuke snickering, not to mention Momotarou's lips trembling, trying to not smile. Nitori looked between them all, and Rin huffed.

"Let's go. Come on, Sousuke."

"Got it, _captain_."

" _Shut up_. Momo, Ai..."

Rin bid them off with a two-finger salute, and the underclassmen nodded, darting off in the opposite direction. Sousuke had already taken off, and Rin followed, gesturing to the bazooka with his own blaster.

"Have that thing ready to go, just in ca—"

" _'Synchronize our watches_?'"

"Shut the _hell up_."

. . . . . . .

"It's a thin stream, but it goes far...that's kinda sneaky! It's perfect, Rei-chan!"

"...I suppose...you certainly got the better end of the deal, though...did you know about any of these?"

Rei held his phaser aloft, firing another experimental shot at a tree. His water gun didn't require a pump, which he actually preferred; the motion felt rather indecent, and he wasn't quite sure why. In any case, all this weapon needed was a squeeze of the trigger. And it was such a deep violet, too, dark and rich. A lovely color.

"No, these are all Goro-chan's. When I told him about my idea, he was like, 'Oh I have a whole _stash_ of water guns, I'm not using them, go ahead!' And he dropped them off here earlier. I've never seen any of them before...I think the one I got was imported from the States."

"Well, then I'm glad you didn't have any kind of prior knowledge. Even if we're on the same team, it wouldn't have felt right having that sort of advantage...besides, the fun part was finding out what everyone's could do."

"Haru-chan's was so _strong_..."

"Makoto-senpai's had that one nozzle, though."

"Oh, that was _so cool_."

"And then you have your—"

" _I know_ , _it's awesome_!

"It is! And mine...well, _mine's_ ergonomic perfection. It even has a proper sight for better aim."

"Yeah yeah, aim's great, but _check this out_!"

Nagisa stood up (they'd been quietly hiding behind a bush for the time being) and raised his gun, the pink and green double-wide. It had two handles, which meant two triggers, and had a rather large seam down the middle, separating the barrels. He spoke gruffly, as if he were an announcer on a commercial.

" _Double barrel rapid_ - _fire_!”

Rei watched and took note as Nagisa used two fingers on each trigger, alternating between them and managing to make, essentially, twice as many shots as he'd make normally. All the while, Nagisa was making sound effects like " _pew pew pew pew pew_ " while Rei warned him to keep his voice low.

"And we probably shouldn't be wasting water..."

"It's just spurts when I do it like that. It'll make making the three shots _way_ easier...or! _Or_ I can make two, one with each barrel, and then _you_ can give the finishing blow! Give 'em a beautiful death, Rei-chan!"

"...a _beautiful death_?"

Nagisa's eyes were twinkling, _twinkling_ when talking about using their combined power to take out their friends (rivals?) from Samezuka. Rei stared at him for a moment, knowing that they were quite the force to be reckoned with. Earlier, that confrontation with Momotarou, that had been absolutely _exhilarating_. He and Nagisa had been so fluid and precise, ready to strike him down at a moment's notice.

. . .

Rei removed his glasses, wiping off a speck of haze before pushing them back on his face.

"...if that's the death we're meant to give, then so be it."

" _Awesome_! Hey, see if you can do rapid-fire, too."

"A-alright, I...just two fingers?"

"Yeah yeah, and just kinda wiggle 'em, but strongly."

Rei followed the advice and made his attempt, and it worked. Water flew from the gun in quick spurts, staining the dark bark, and he smiled.

"...Nagisa-kun...does it smell odd out here to you?"

"Wasn't me."

"That's not what I—... _no_ , I mean, there's something in the air...you don't smell it?"

"...well, what's it smell like?"

Rei took a moment, because he knew. He knew what it was, it was something he'd smelled before, but...he couldn't place it at all.

"...it's sweet."

"Nope. I know sweet, and I don't smell sweet. Are you getting Woodland Madness, Rei-chan?"

"No, I am not getting Woodland Madness because there's no such thing."

"Mm-hm. Only time will tell.”

"Honestly..."

The two stood carefully and began trudging through the brush, chatting quietly, idly, until Nagisa suddenly raised his hand to stop, and Rei froze in his tracks. Nagisa then gestured left toward a wide oak, and they slipped behind its trunk, peering around.

"It's Momo-chan and Ai-chan!"

Nagisa hissed gleefully as their opponents entered their line of sight. It was indeed Momotarou and Nitori, walking along, looking tense, cautious; Momotarou was even walking backwards, gun at the ready.

"It'll be difficult to get the jump on them..."

When Rei murmured his worry, Nagisa looked up at him, prompting Rei to look down at a smile that was one part purely joyful and two parts devilish.

"Doesn't mean we can't do it."

. . .

" _Right_!"

After a silent high-five (they'd really only touched their palms together, rather than slap them) they crouched down, approaching their unsuspecting rivals in near silence.

. . . . . . .

"...it's been quiet for a little too long, hasn't it?"

Haruka nodded, keeping his eyes on their surroundings.

People mistook Haruka for being inattentive or uncaring, but the truth was that Haruka actually noticed _everything_. He saw everything, heard everyone, retained it all under a thin shield of passiveness that only Makoto had ever really pierced.

"I wonder how Rin and the others are doing...Yamazaki-kun looked pretty serious back there. But we're pretty serious, too."

"..."

Sousuke. Haruka wasn't surprised at all that he was here; he'd probably been Rin's first choice for their team, and that was fine, but it certainly made things more difficult for Iwatobi. Especially considering Sousuke had that bazooka.

. . .

Haruka stopped, firing off his gun again and reanalyzing the stream. Makoto looked on, questioning but reminding silent.

"...we said mine went about twenty feet, didn't we?"

"Maybe twenty-five, yeah."

Makoto nodded, wondering why Haruka was suddenly testing the weapons again.

"Yours was forty..."

"Haru?"

Makoto squeaked in shocks as Haruka suddenly turned to him, gun lowered, but still startling him all the same. He set off to walking again, Makoto following hurriedly.

"You have the better advantage of taking out Yamazaki. But it'd have to be from a distance. That bazooka probably has an added range considering it's size. I'll go for Rin."

"...y-yeah, that's sounds—...yeah. That would work, but...Rin's got some sort of blaster. You and him are—"

"It's for show."

"...huh?"

"It's got a big tank, but it's meant for lasting longer rather than distance. Bigger tank, less power. If he and I were facing off, I'd run out before him, but I'd at least be able to refill faster...it'd be the same with Yamazaki.”

Makoto was silent as he listened to Haruka rattle off his theory. He called it a theory because there really would be no way to know how anyone's gun worked until an actual confrontation was happening.

…Haruka was taking this seriously. _Very_ seriously.

"The bazooka holds more, and it probably shoots farther, but...that means it would take more power to—"

Bloodcurdling shrieks interrupted the banter, and both boys whipped their heads to the east, listening to the remnants of the screaming as it echoed throughout the woods.

"...one of those was Rei..."

Makoto spoke aloud what they both already knew before they bolted off, guns raised, adrenaline coursing.

 _Ready_.

. . . . . . .

 

**. . .**

**Five Minutes Prior**

**. . .**

 

"But no, these shirts make us look like badasses, right, Senpai?.

"Momo, try and keep your voice low..."

"Oh, shit, right. Sorry...but for real, they're all tight and awesome!"

Momo took one hand off his weapon to tug at his own collar, a gesture Nitori wouldn't see as he was the one advancing their mission.

"And the captain looked ripped, but like, different? It's different than just seeing him swim, like, it's different to see muscles through clothes than just... _muscles_? There's a difference, right?"

"I...I don't know..."

" _Man_ , his pecs were like, _'Oh man_ , _we're trapped in here because we're too huge_ ,' but that's a good thing. The cap's got _rockin_ ’ cleavage."

"..."

Nitori didn't respond not only because he had no idea to respond, but mostly because he couldn't.

"And then _Gou_ - _san_...she looked so _cute_ , up on the chair. I'm not gonna like, throw myself off a cliff or nothin', but if I bust my knee, I'll find the strength to drag myself to her beautiful face...she'll be all like, _'Oh_ , _Momotarou_ , _you're so brave and awesome_ , _here_ , _let me take care of you_ , _and would you like a sip of my water_? _You look thirsty_.'"

All this was spoken in a high-pitched, poorly done impression of Gou Matsuoka, and it made Nitori wince.

"Ya know what that is, Senpai? When a girl shares her drink with you?"

"...an indirect kiss?"

" _An indirect ki_ —!"

Momo was interrupted when, out of nowhere, a whizz of water shot by his head, and he cried out in shock.

" _Whoa_!"

" _Wha_ -?!"

Nitori turned just in time to see a flash of yellow dart to his right, and a flash of purple on his left.

"Momo, find a tree!"

"On it!"

The underclassmen dropped low, crouching and moving swiftly until they found temporary safety behind trees.

" _Aaaai_ - _chan_ , _Moooomo_ - _chan_! We wanna _plaaaay_!"

A singsong voice carried through the woods, followed by laughter, which was followed by a startled, distant, "Nagisa-kun, that's _creepy_!"

"Senpai!"

Momo hissed over to his left, where Nitori was hiding out. They had no idea where Rei and Nagisa were, and his senior looked more than a little frightened.

"What do we do?"

"Uh...we could—"

" _Found you_!"

" _Senpai_ , _get down_!"

Both cries alerted Nitori to hit the dirt, a stream of water sailing over him, and he rolled around the tree trunk to dart out into a small clearing. The sound of quick footsteps followed him, and he dared to glance back. It was Momotarou chasing him so earnestly, but there was also water flying every which way. Nagisa and Rei were a good distance back, but they were still visible. Close enough for Nitori to see Nagisa's wild grin and Rei's determined gait...he focused on running ahead.

...hadn't Rin said something once about Rei being on the track and field team? And Nagisa looked so light on his feet...

"Senpai! _Senpai_ , I got your back!"

Momotarou turned, sidestepping as he shot back, but nothing hit. Nagisa was dodging left and right, using the trees to his advantage, all the while laughing and giggling and shooting his ammo and raining it down like _hellfire_.

" _Rei_ - _chan_ , _Formation Omega_!"

"Yes!"

And then before Nitori or Momotarou could react at all, their pursuers froze and darted away, adjacent...out of sight...away.

Gone...

. . .

Nitori slowed, but didn't stop, gesturing Momotarou to do the same as well.

"...they're not…they’re not really gone..."

"Y-yeah."

. . .

' _Formation Omega_?' Had they _rehearsed_ this? _What else did they have planned_?

Rin's warning rang in their heads, frantically looking around, searching the trees for them, hearing nothing, seeing nothing, growing more paranoid by the second.

"Senpai?"

"Yeah?"

"...it's super quiet..."

"...y-yeah."

The boys stood, genuinely anxious and afraid as they moved; it would be better to move than just stay still and be an easy target, right?

It was unnaturally quiet. There were no birds, or cicadas, or even wind...just the sound of their tense footsteps crunching along dead leaves and the thick sloshing inside their guns.

Any moment could be their last.

"...Senpai?"

"Lower voice, Momo."

"Sorry...u-uh, I'm not scared or anything…are you?"

"...just a bit..."

. . .

"...okay, then I'm actually kinda scared, too, but—"

" _Dazzling Aqua Strike_!"

A cry was made in unison from above and behind. The first place Momotarou and Nitori looked was up, and there was Nagisa, in the trees, or rather, leaping down from them with his gun in the air. Behind them was Rei, rolling out from behind a tree, phaser raised and shooting, but ultimately missing by a hair's breadth.

" _Ah_ -!"

Momotarou fumbled for second before squeezing the trigger alongside Nitori, firing off at Rei and dodging Nagisa's leap. The flying opponent ducked and rolled, turning while crouched on his heels to shoot in an sweeping motion.

" _Rei_ - _chan_ , _on your right_!"

Immediately, Nitori looked to the left, raising his gun in a moment of fight-or-flight, and the moment he saw Rei Ryugazaki begin to emerge from behind a tree, he fired.

. . .

Red. Deep red, dark crimson splattered and bled into Rei's clean white shirt, and in a single moment, the entire world came to a halt.

Nitori's face blanched, hands beginning to tremble as his breathing became shallow.

Momotarou's gun fell to the dirt.

Nagisa's expression went from excited to shocked.

Rei…

. . .

Their screaming pierced the air, along with the suddenly pungent scent of sweetness.


	3. Reload

Makoto had pumped his gun four times, albeit shakily considering he was sprinting across uneven terrain.

Haruka had done just the same without much issue, but a thousand different scenarios had gone through his head. They'd heard Rei scream. They'd heard _multiple_ people screaming.

After a minute of running they heard sounds, people yelling and crying, all of it indiscernible, but it was a sign they were heading the right way. It got louder and louder, and then they finally found the source.

Rei was on the ground, sitting up against a tree, clawing at a dark red stain on his shirt just above his stomach, yelling for Nagisa to stop laughing and help him, " _I'm dying_ , _I'm dying_!"

Nagisa was causing a riot. The boy was on the ground, clutching his sides and laughing harder than any of his teammates had ever seen before, barely able to wheeze out odd phrases like " _It worked_!" and " _Rei_ - _chan_ , _your face_ , _oh my_ God!"

Samezuka's younger teammates, Nitori and Momotarou, were also there, displaying two very distinct forms of sheer panic and not really paying any attention to anything else that was going on.

Nitori was on his hands and knees, head lowered to the ground, bawling his eyes out. " _I didn't_ _mean it_ , _I didn't know_!" came out in hitched, terrified sobs as Momotarou paced around, gesturing wildly to everyone and everything as he spoke, nearly shouting.

"What do we even _do_ , do we call the _cops_? I don't wanna go to prison… _what if my mom finds out_? Oh my God, _oh my God_. We gotta bury him... _we gotta bury him and pretend this never happ—_ "

" _Don't talk about burying me while I'm still alive_!"

" _Rei_ - _chaaaan_!"

" _Forgive meee_ , _I'm so sorry_ , _I'm—_ "

"What the _fuck_ is going is on?"

Everyone suddenly tensed, all except Momotarou, who went sprinting toward the new voice. Rin and Sousuke had arrived, just as Makoto and Haruka had, and their expressions were a bit less shocked. Sousuke looked over the screaming underclassmen (in Nagisa's case, with laughter) and then locked onto Haruka. The two stared at each other for about two seconds before their guns were raised, but both were stopped by their respective partners.

"Sousuke, chill!"

" _Haru_ , n-not now!"

. . .

Haruka lowered his gun whereas Sousuke had to have his pushed downward by Rin.

On the Iwatobi side, Haruka was staring at the terrified Rei and the hysterical Nagisa as Makoto looked on, hand over his mouth. Rin took in the scene of 'horror,' his eyes widening at the sight of Rei panicking and covered in what appeared like blood.

"...what—"

Momotarou slammed into Rin's front and clutched at his shirt, fighting fearful tears.

" _Jesus_ , Momo—!"

" _Nitori_ - _senpai killed the one with the glasses_!"

"I didn't mean to! _I didn't mean to_!"

Nitori launched up and ran over to Rin, clutching him in the same way Momotarou was, but with a much shakier grip, tears streaming down his face, his voice thick with emotion.

"He just...I-I tried to... _Rin_ - _senpai_ —"

"Calm _down_ , both of you."

Rin didn't shove them off so much as he gave a nudge and stepped back, hands up in defense. His eyes kept darting over to Rei, who looked fairly... _okay_ , despite the massive bloodstain on his shirt and his general disposition. Makoto and Haruka were looking over him or, rather, Haruka was; Makoto looked ready to pass out. That figured…

And Nagisa was still losing it, rolling around and smacking the ground and not being of any use. Damn it.

"Okay. What happened?"

Rin spoke calmly even though he could feel tensions rising. Was Rei all right? He wasn't getting any answers, considering his only two reliable sources were both in hysterics.

"Ryugazaki-kun jumped out at us!"

"And Nitori-senpai shot him!"

"And there was blood—"

Nitori froze up, limbs trembling as he began to hyperventilate, which meant Momotarou took over, on top of everyone else screaming.

"He shot him, and it was just like _bfffft_ all over him, and he was just like ' _Aaaaah_!' and then Nitori-senpai dropped his gun and started crying, and the blonde guy won't stop laughing, _what do we do_?!"

"Rei-chan, _you're the best_!"

" _H_ - _Haru_ , don't _touch_ him he's—!"

"Haruka-senpai, y-you were always an inspiration to me, Makoto-senpai, I've always valued your teaching and coaching, _Nagisa_ - _kun_ , _stop laughing at me_!"

" _Rin_ - _senpaaaai_!"

A hard blast of water hit a nearby trunk, fired rather abruptly from Sousuke's bazooka, and everyone flinched and fell silent (even Nagisa). Rin shoved the barrel down again, gritting his teeth.

" _Knock it off_!"

"We need everyone to shut up for a sec!”

Sousuke shouted, which only made Rin even more irritated. He looked back to his tearful underclassmen, then over to Haruka, who—

"Haru, _what the hell_?!"

Rin finally noticed what exactly Haruka was doing and shouted at him. He had his hand pressed into Rei's 'wound' and brought it up back up, licking his now stained his palm. All eyes were on him, wide with horror; Rei himself was so white that it was a wonder he hadn't passed out.

" _H_ - _H_ - _Haruka_ - _senpai_ —"

"It's juice."

. . .

The boys were dead silent, save for Nagisa, who was muffling quiet snickers behind his hands. Nitori and Momotarou were still frightened out of their wits, albeit more confused than before, and Rin just sort of tilted his head, jaw slack, wondering if he'd heard Haruka correctly.

"...what?"

Haruka held up his palm, now stained with red, and spoke again.

"It's juice."

"I heard you the first time, the _fuck do you mean_ it's _juice_?!"

"...juice...?"

There was a shaky glimmer of hope in Nitori's voice, and Sousuke began unscrewing the cap to his bazooka. After taking a few small whiffs, he looked to Rin and nodded.

. . .

"But...but we filled up in the river...the river's not juice, right...?

Makoto chimed in, sounding baffled as he, too, popped the lid off his machine gun, followed by everyone but Nagisa and Nitori, who had finally started to breathe properly again.

"Rei, are you hurt at all?"

Haruka turned to Rei, the 'wounded,' and watched as his face finally seemed to relax. He shook his head, steadily moving to touch the stain on shirt, pressing lightly.

"No, but...I just assumed I had gone into shock...I'm not dying...?"

Rei looked around at his peers and rivals before moving to stand, lifting his shirt to examine his stomach. There was no puncture. No wound. No bullet hole...just a bit of red coloring that had seeped through onto his stomach.

. . .

"I'm...I'm not dying... _I'm not dying_! Oh, thank _everything_!"

" _Senpai_ , you're not a cold-blooded killer! Isn't that great?!"

"I-I didn't think it'd be cold-blo—"

“ _Why the fuck is there Kool-Aid in our guns_?"

Rin shouted, genuine anger and confusion in his voice, and then all eyes turned to Nagisa, who sputtered and started laughing all over again. Rin glared, looked over to Haruka as if he were the one to blame.

"...momentary truce...?"

"..."

"Sounds good."

Makoto spoke up, nodding in Haruka's stead as he gestured for everyone to follow him back to the original clearing.

. . . . . . .

" _Rei_ - _kun_! Are you alright?!"

"I've never been better, Gou-san. I'm light as a feather…sticky, but that’s more satisfying than death…”

Gou's hands were clasped together as she saw the boys emerge from the woods, and of course she had been immediately concerned upon seeing Rei covered in what looked like blood, but—

"It's Kool-Aid."

Rin spat the words bitterly as he sat on the ground, the others following his example. Those from Samezuka sat beside him while Iwatobi sat across. All weapons were laid out before them, out of reach. A momentary truce.

"... _K_ - _Kool_ - _Aid_?! But—"

"We're here for answers, and then we'll be outta your hair."

Sousuke glanced up at her with a smile, and Gou pouted, looking over them all from her lifeguard's chair, and she sighed.

"And here I thought I'd have something to do..."

"I-I kinda banged my knee up earlier!"

"No you _didn't_ , Momo, be _quiet_."

"Don’t worry, Gou-san. If anything happens, we’ll come right to you. First thing."

Makoto piped up happily, and Gou smiled with a nod, missing how Rin elbowed Momotarou. Rin then scanned his gaze over to Nagisa, who had his head buried in hands, shoulders shaking.

"You haven't stopped cackling since this started. Spill."

"Yes, I'm _also_ eager to know why my near-death experience was so hilarious to you..."

Rei piped up dryly, and that only brought Nagisa further and further away from quieting down to explain, but eventually, he flapped his hand in a sort of _'Hang on_ ' gesture. Nagisa wiped the tears from his eyes, still snickering, and then nodded in affirmation.

" _I_ did it. Well, it wasn't _really_ me. It was Goro-chan. It was _my_ idea, but _he_ did it."

"Did _what_?"

Sousuke spoke up, growing impatient, and it was completely justified. Everyone minus Haruka (who appeared generally apathetic) seemed either agitated or exhausted.

"Nagisa, why are our guns shooting Kool-Aid?"

A gentle prompt came from Makoto, who smiled weakly, and Nagisa grinned.

"Because Goro-chan filled them with drink mix! Ten packets per gun. Fifteen for Sou-chan's!"

"Do _not_ call me—"

" _Why_? And why didn't you tell us?"

Rin interrupted, looking absolutely done with it all, and Nagisa's answer of " _War is unpredictable_!" certainly didn't help.

"Well, the _real_ reason is what you said earlier, Rin-chan."

"...I said something earlier that started this...?"

"Not earlier. You just kinda reminded me."

Nagisa sat up straighter, criss-crossing his legs effortlessly over each other as he came clean.

"I was about to go to bed last night, and I was listening to the weather on the TV. They said there was a 'seventy-five percent chance of precipitation,' and my first thought was ' _Oh no_ , _we're gonna get rained out_!' But then I remembered that weather doesn't stop wars, so I stopped worrying."

"That's not explaining why I was shot with cherry-flavored river water..."

Rei's tone was far more gentle now, and Nagisa almost lost it again. He maintained, however, and continued on.

"Weather doesn't stop regular wars, but what if it's a _water_ war? How would we know what's rain and what's a shot? People could be cheating left and right!"

"I don't think any of us would cheat, though, Nagisa."

"That's because you're naive, Mako-chan!"

" _What_?!"

"You expect everyone to play by the rules, but this is _war_! There are no rules in war! People go rouge all the time! Double-crossers and dirty tricks and renegades! _No rules_!"

"Nagisa-kun, you made a list of rules before we came out here..."

"Well, yeah, but that was diff—"

"Can we _please_ get to the Kool-Aid part?!"

Nitori's voice broke as he shouted, and all eyes turned to him, shocked. The poor boy was still shaking, eyes red and puffy.

"Up until ten minutes ago, I thought I'd ki—...I'd thought Ryugazaki-kun was de—... _w_ - _why are we using Kool-Aid_?"

Nagisa grinned even wider before slinging an arm over Rei and pulling him closer, eliciting a sharp cry from the boy before Nagisa pointed to the red stain.

"'Cause it looks like blood, right?!"

. . .

"And because of what Rin-chan said earlier! I thought of it last night, about the weather!"

Everyone was staring, anticipating. Finally, Nagisa dropped the bomb.

"If it rains, you just have a wet shirt, but a big red ‘bloodstain’ is different, right? You can still tell if you or someone else got shot, even if you're both soaked to the bone! That way, no one can cheat. And that's why I asked everyone to wear white, too."

. . .

He looked so proud of himself, and...really, he ought to have been. Even Nitori was impressed, and he'd been on one of the receiving ends of pure terror. Momotarou let out a " _Woah_ ," and everyone else just sort of stared.

"...you could have at least told me when I got shot..."

Rei was a mixture of awestruck and frustrated, but the former showed far more than the latter. That idea...it was _brilliant_. A true no-cheat method. It would have been better if they'd all been informed beforehand...it certainly would've saved some panic attacks, but—

"I didn't want to say anything because I thought it'd be better if we figured out for ourselves. That, and I wanted to see your face when you thought you were gonna die."

Nagisa slapped Rei's back one last time before letting him go, smiling as if he'd just told a successful joke. Rei only stared at him before sighing.

"You _know_ that's not a real reason."

"Is there anything we ought to know that you're not telling us?"

Sousuke's irritation was very apparent in his question, and Nagisa's head tilted.

"Like what? Land-mines? Covered pits? Nah, we didn't have that much time, but it was in the plans...I mean, if you wanna make one yourself—"

"We're not going to make _covered pits_ , Nagisa!"

Makoto objected fearfully, and that set about to more bickering and excitement. Nitori looked ready to leave, finally having calmed down to his fullest while Momotarou was primping and flexing and seeing if Gou was watching him (she wasn't). Rin empathized as he saw Sousuke nursing his temples...he could feel a headache coming on, himself. This whole event was just insanity. How the hell was he supposed to survive two more hours of this? He assumed they'd end this when one team won, or when it started to get dark, or whatever. He suppressed a small smirk; of course they'd be out of here way before then. Hell, Rei already had a shot on him; two more, and he'd be out. By sunset, Samezuka would be up by one man. Victory was theirs.

Of course, it wouldn't be _truly_ satisfying unless Rin got Haru. Makoto, Rei, Nagisa, yeah, they were important, but...no...no, he didn't need to explain himself.

Unless he himself took out Haruka, it didn't matter.

. . .

Look at him, sitting there all quiet, not participating in the debate at all. Him and his stupid blue rifle. That thing probably didn't have any power to it whatsoever. Good. It made Rin's mission easier.

. . .

No, not good.

Rin didn't _want_ it to be easy.

Haruka was always a challenge, so no matter what the range on that thing was, Haruka was going to make it work for him, and he was going to challenge Rin with. Just like always.

. . .

 _God_ , he pissed Rin off so much. This event was ridiculous, but so was Haruka. Haruka Nanase, the guy who had probably never lifted a weight a day in his life, and yet was light and toned, and just as fast in the water as Rin. Rin, who worked out on a daily basis to maintain himself, to _be_ that fast. It was always Rin against Haruka, the guy who didn't need a reason to swim other than 'I like it.' He existed and performed effortlessly, and it was _infuriating_.

He was the strangest person Rin had ever met, and probably one of, if not _the_ , most important people he'd ever met, but he didn't think that far ahead. No, Rin stopped at " _What an idiot_."

Should he get three shots in quickly? That'd be good…or maybe he could go right for the one-hit headshot kill. That would do nicely, to see that stupid black hair of his all soaked and clinging to his forehead, dripping…

. . .

"What?"

"Huh?"

Rin jolted. How long had Haruka been staring at him? He looked as neutral as ever, though his brow was raised in questioning.

"You were staring at me."

"No I wasn't!"

" _Kinda_ were, Rin-chan."

"Nagisa…"

Makoto quieted him down with a small laugh, which only made Rin more flustered up. If _Makoto_ was defending him, then Rin had _definitely_ been staring. He turned to his teammates; Momotarou wasn't paying anyone but Gou any mind, whereas Nitori was glancing around awkwardly, that sort of gesture a person would do if there was a cutesy couple uncomfortably close to them.

Sousuke's expression matched Haru's, eyebrow cocked and passive, though his eyes showed great amusement, and Rin scowled, moving to stand. Surprisingly, he wasn't the only one, as Haruka had now braced his hands on the dirt for balance.

" _Truce over_! Nobody shoots until we're back in the woods."

"Sounds fair."

Haruka answered Rin immediately, and the two went for their respective weapons, never taking their eyes from each other, as if they'd expected foul play. Rin would never take a cheap shot, though; that wouldn't be enough for him. And Haruka wouldn't because...he was Haruka. That was all there was to it.

If Rin wanted to beat him, he was going to do it _perfectly_ fair. Something all-out and incredible. Something worth _talking_ about. Flawless.

"So there aren't any more surprises? Just for everyone's sake."

Makoto reached for his gun and spoke warily, and Nagisa shook his head.

"Nope! Unless you wanna make your own surprises..."

He looked to Sousuke, eyes drifting to the bazooka before he smiled quietly, something that made Sousuke's eyes narrow. With a quick motion, he gestured for Rei to get his phaser while he went for his own double barrel.

"Let's go, Rei-chan."

"Right."

The two stood, retrieving their weapons, and Rin could have sworn he heard a quiet order of " _Jog_ ," from Nagisa before they suddenly picked up their pace, disappearing into the woods. Makoto and Haruka had started to back away, Haruka never taking his gaze (or his rifle’s sight) off Rin until they, too, vanished amongst the tree trunks and foliage.

Sousuke sighed and pumped his bazooka, watching as the underclassmen fiddled with their own weapons. Nitori was mumbling " _It's just juice_ " over and over again as he looked over the trigger.

"...well the cool thing is, if we get lost out here, at least we have something to drink, right? Are you thirsty, Gou-san?”

Momotarou joked happily, pointing to the cap of his triple-barrel and pouting pitifully when she shook her head.

"I have drinks, but thank you..."

"Ya sure?"

"Back up off her, Momo..."

Rin stretched for a moment, shaking his blaster despite knowing he had plenty of ammo left. He waved for everyone to follow him, darting in the opposite direction that the Iwatobi team had gone. Shade covered them quickly, and he began to speak.

"Okay. We're goin' deep in the trees this time, and we're gonna use the environment to our advantage. Bushes to hide in, low ground, all that. Momo, Nitori, tell me what happened with Rei and Nagisa, just in case we run into them again."

"Maybe Momo should tell you...everything kinda blurred when—"

"Got it, no problem. Momo?"

"Oh man, it was _sick_ , like, they were runnin' and runnin' and they had like, _attack names_ , and the blonde one leaped outta the tree like _'BAAAAH'_ and then Glasses got shot, and—"

"They sound prepared."

Sousuke interrupted, his voice low, and Rin nodded.

"Told ya. Apart, they're pretty manageable, but when they're working together..."

"..."

"What?"

"Nothin'. Just thinkin.’"

Sousuke got quiet after that, and Rin grew unsettled. Great, Sousuke had things on his mind now, didn't he?

"A-Are we gonna split up again? I kinda...I kinda don't wanna. Not yet anyway."

Nitori shook his head, as if his own reaffirmation would be enough to win over their captain, but he needn't have bothered, considering Rin was shaking his head, too.

"Nah, we're gonna stick together until we see someone. Then we can send someone out, and the rest of us can be backup...or ya know, be ready if someone else shows up."

Rin smiled, pumping the blaster as he instructed the others to prepare themselves adequately as well.

"This way, we'll just be ready to shoot when the time comes...and... _Momo_ , _quit sucking out the ammo_!"

Rin barked as he looked to Momotarou, who had his lips wrapped around one of his barrels.

"Bu' i's _goo'_!"

Momotarou lowered the gun away and grinned sheepishly, earning him a groan from Sousuke.

"Okay, okay, no more."

"It's river water, anyway."

Rin added as they walked, and Momotarou suddenly looked puzzled.

"Does that make a difference?"

"Oh my _God_."

. . . . . . .

"Nagisa's idea was pretty interesting, wasn't it? I was wondering why we had to wear white...though I guess with that weird smell from earlier, we should've known."

Haruka nodded, trudging through the leaves, on the hunt for a spot to scope from. A bush or something. That's what Rin was probably doing; he knew Rin. Rin could pretend that he was mysterious and clever all he wanted, because he could fool other people, but Haruka knew. Haruka knew better than anyone.

"Poor Nitori-kun, though. He looked pale as a ghost."

"They'll be fine. We know now."

"Haru?"

"They already have a shot on Rei. They'll probably want to take him out first."

"...probably. So...we should find him and back Nagisa and Rei up, right?"

"You can."

"Huh?"

Makoto stopped, but Haruka kept walking forward, making him jog to catch up.

"What do you mean?"

"Your gun's got the better range; they'll be better off with you."

"...but...what about you?"

"I'll be fine."

Haruka did stop then, stopping and looking over his rifle before giving it a good few pumps.

"Prep before going."

"So we can shoot when we want instead of when it's too late?"

He nodded, looking to Makoto with odd determination.

"You know why."

. . . . . . .

"I do..."

Nagisa was smiling a little too excitedly, pleased that Rei understood without further explanation. They were prepared.

"This is gonna be _fun_ , Rei-chan. And don't worry, I know you have a hit on you, but I got your back."

"I know..."

. . .

Nagisa stopped, turning and showing a strange sense of reading the atmosphere.

"What's wrong? It's okay, I got your ba—"

"I know, it's...yes. Thank you, I appreciate it, but..."

Rei had following about five paces behind Nagisa, and his eyes were on the ground...clearly something was wrong.

. . .

After a moment, Rei's gaze flung upward, and he half-shouted into the void.

"We almost executed that move _perfectly_! And not only that, I got _shot_! It was a _double_ -failure!"

Nagisa laughed, jogging back and patting Rei's shoulder.

" _Nooo_ , we didn't _fail_! If we'da _died_ , then yeah, we'da failed, but we're still alive! One shot's fine. There is no failure until we're dead."

"Nagisa-kun..."

. . .

Rei was back to smiling that same determined smile in less than a second, and he nodded. All of sudden, though, their previous topic came back to mind.

"...I have your back, too."

Nagisa grinned, nodding before turning back to lead again, only this time Rei was by his side, rather than behind.

It had been an accident. Sousuke probably hadn't even realized it himself, but that little warning shot in the clearing...or rather, that _big_ warning shot in the clearing, told everyone everything.

Samezuka had a major advantage in that bazooka. That range had to be about fifty feet, at the very least...it shot far, and it shot with power.

Rei and Nagisa wouldn't forget.

"Which formation should we try next?"

"Well, doesn't that depend on the situation...?"

"How about Iota?"

"...I suppose that would work regardless...it depends on who it is, though."

"Well, if it's all like _pew pew pew_ _,_  it won't matter who. We just gotta land three shots. And with the red, it'll be easier to tell..."

Nagisa stopped, looking over to Rei and hesitating, his lips twitching. He broke into cackling a second later.

"I can't believe you thought you were _dying_!"

" _Be quiet_!"


	4. Objective

Rin had been right on the money about the weather. The first fat droplet had splashed down onto his cheek, and then another on his chest, until he and Sousuke were darting for some sort of cover, cursing up and down about the sudden cold.

The two found shelter under a halfway-felled tree, not quite drenched but certainly not dry.

"I _hate_ clingy clothes."

"Says the swimmer."

" _Hey_. Swimsuits are _supposed_ to do that. _This_ —"

Rin pulled the hem of his shirt away from his abdomen, watching as it fell right back towards his skin with a quiet but heavy ' _plap_.'

"—is not. And the hell do you mean ' _says the swimmer_ ;' we're on the same team."

"Mm."

"...ugh, forget it."

Rin grumbled, flinching when he felt stray rain blow under the tree from the wind. It didn't feel half bad, to be honest, but regardless. He looked up at the trees, peering through the branches into the grey sky.

What exactly were they supposed to do now? Wait out the rain? There wasn't any thunder or lightning, so it was perfectly safe...inconvenient, but safe. Would Nitori and Momotarou find some place to settle down, or would they keep going? Would they know that Nagisa would probably be ecstatic about this ' _added natural element_ ' (he'd definitely call it something like that) and not give in for a second? Though maybe Rei could reign him in a bit; Rin hadn't known him for that long, but the guy didn't come off as the outdoorsy type, let alone the ' _Let's_ - _run_ - _around_ - _in_ - _the_ - _rain_ - _shooting_ - _each_ - _other_ ' type.

Makoto could probably convince Haruka into stopping for the moment, or at least, that's what Rin had thought until he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"What's u—?"

Sousuke's hand came up in a sharp gesture that Rin knew meant ' _Shut up_ ,' and he did, staying quiet as he followed Sousuke's gaze to the west.

. . .

"...the hell is he doing?"

Sousuke murmured under his breath, and Rin only kept staring.

Haruka was there, and that was really the best to way put it. He was there, and that was it. He stood a good ways away from the Samezuka seniors, completely unaware of their presence as he stared up at the sky, allowing the rain to drench him. Unmoving. Rifle at his side. Eyes closed. Hair soaked, shirt just the same, water running down his chin and arms and fingertips.

. . .

If one took away the rifle and the modern clothing, he might've looked like something out of mythology, like a spirit of the forest, or a god of the rain. Something ethereal and peaceful, benevolent yet mysterious...and Rin couldn't look away.

A thick slosh brought him out of his daze, and he turned to see Sousuke aiming, arms steady as he held the bazooka aloft, its sight on Haruka. Rin's eyes widened, and instead of reacting properly, he shouted " _Don't_!" and shoved the gun to the side, startling his friend into pulling the trigger. The jet shot through the air, missing its target by about a foot, and if _that_ didn't set off the chain of events to follow, Rin's shout had, because he and Sousuke had been spotted. Haruka's head had whipped in their direction, and in an instant, his rifle was up.

" _Shit_."

Rin swore, darting out from under the tree and keeping at a run, dodging behind the trunks and shooting. He could see through the downpour that Haruka was on the move, too, essentially parallel with Rin as he fired. God, what was rain and what was a shot? They ran, breathing hard as they searched for a red mark on each other and themselves, looking down, back up, shooting, searching again.

He looked incredible. _This_ felt incredible. Rin could feel every ounce of determination that Haruka had every time he saw his fingers twitch against the trigger of that rifle, in the way he ran between the trees, eyes focused on nowhere but his target, Rin...it made Rin want him down even more, because _Haruka was into this_. _This_ was how he was showing it.

What had Sousuke been _thinking_?! They couldn't just take out Haruka so quickly! Where was the fun in _that_? How else would Rin get this big a rush? No, he needed this to last as long as it could, until he found the perfect way to take Haruka down. Right until the last possible moment.

Rin skidded behind a tree, peering around and shooting at what was now nothing; Haruka had gone into hiding, too. Rin laughed pridefully, feeling a burst of energy as he called out, his voice carrying above the rain.

" _Haru_! You can quit now, if you want!"

"Why? Are you scared?"

...that had sounded way too close. Rin rolled out from behind the tree, blaster raised as he scanned the area...no Haruka. He moved slowly, quietly turning in a circle as he did so. The rain poured on.

"Nah, not scared. You just looked kinda tired."

"Thanks for the concern."

. . .

He had a comeback for everything, didn't he? Rin's grin fell into a smirk; clever bastard.

"You tryn'a drown yourself or something?"

"The water revived me."

And now Rin sputtered and laughed. Haruka was so stupid, and he had stupid jokes, and it was all so _stupid_. ' _The water revived me_.' No wonder everyone thought he was such a weirdo, saying shit like that all the time. And he'd always been like that, starting with that ' _the water is alive_ ' thing from their essays in elementary school. Oh _man_ , Rin couldn't remember laughing like that in so long.

And Rin continued to laugh now.

"God, you're such a—"

He'd had about half a second to react to Haruka suddenly appearing from behind a wide tree, rifle up as he dove from one tree to the next and fired. Rin managed to duck just in time, dropping to the ground and side-stepping to the nearest tree as he haphazardly shot back. At the feeling of new pressure, he glanced down, seeing a deep spot of crimson soaking into his already wet shirt.

"That was a cheap shot, Haru! You're better than that, aren't you?"

. . .

Rin called out and waited, but didn't get a reply. He hesitated before poking his head out from his hiding spot.

"Haru?"

The first thing he saw was a drenched, pissed-off Sousuke, standing with his bazooka by his side and a scowl on his face as he stared off in the distance. The next thing Rin collected (after looking Sousuke's way) was the sight of Haruka Nanase bolting off into the woods...with a fresh red stain on his side. Rin leaped up, blaster at the ready as he patted Sousuke's shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.

"Come on, if we start running, we can—!"

" _I had him_ , Rin."

Sousuke wasn't loud, but his point came across strongly, and Rin's excitement dropped by several degrees.

"...well...yeah, but—"

"I _had_ him. You _knew_ I had him, and you—"

"I know! I...I-I know, okay?"

"What the _hell_?"

"Look, it doesn't have to be a one-shot kill, right? Don't you wanna make it last or....something...?"

"Make _what_ last? Being out in the rain shooting your friends like a bunch of idiots?"

"..."

Rin's point was, clearly, not as clear, and Sousuke only looked more frustrated than before. His friend sighed, running his fingers futility through his dark hair. Had the rain picked up?

"Look, if trash-talk-flirting is your way of taking this seriously, cool, but don't _ever_ sabotage my shot again."

Rin bristled, shouting and throwing a half-hearted punch to Sousuke's arm.

"I wasn't _flirting_ , what the hell are you talking about?! I was—...that wasn't—!"

"Rin."

He turned to his friend, flustered and feeling ridiculous, because _wow_ , that hadn't been _flirting_. Rin had talked to Haruka the way he'd _always_ talked to him...that wasn't _flirting_. They weren't _flirting_.

Sousuke was just trying to get his goat. Again.

"What?"

"If we move now, we can still catch him."

"...whatever."

Rin said ' _whatever_ ,' but they were both running within seconds, tracking Haruka down. His heart was still racing in his chest, pounding against his rib cage. He needed more; more action and more speed, more of Haruka giving it his all. If Haruka gave his all, so would Rin.

He'd already decided; he and Haruka would be the last men standing.

Rin wouldn't accept it any other way.

. . .

"If we split up, we have the chance of getting him from either side."

Rin spoke before he could stop himself, and much to his shock, Sousuke agreed without question, setting off on his own way. Rin stared and stared until he felt it again, that new surge, the adrenaline that shot through him the second he looked back in the direction Haruka had gone.

He'd just sent Sousuke off specifically for the better opportunity of getting Haruka himself. Was that bad of him as a captain?

He didn't think so.

. . . . . . .

"Nitori-senpai?"

' _Slurp_.'

"...yes?"

Nitori's voice was weary, the rain droning on as Momotarou spoke up yet again. The freshman's lips were firmly around one of the barrels of his gun, sucking down his ammo as if it were the nectar of the gods.

' _Slurp_.'

"It's raining pretty hard. Do you think we'll run into those guys again? Maybe they're hiding. I'm glad we didn't really kill them, they looked really cool. I'm having fun. Are you having fun? You didn't look like it earlier, but you're not a murderer, so you should be having fun now, right?"

"...yes, I'm having fun..."

As much fun as sitting under a tree in the pouring rain with a fifteen-year-old boy on a sugar high could be. Nitori's head was resting on the rough bark of the tree, eyes squeezed shut.

"Matsuoka-senpai is so _badass_ , he just came blazin' in like ' _Yo_ , _I'm here to save you guys_ ,' and he didn't shoot or nothin', but he totally kept a cool head, he wasn't even scared of you when he thought you'd killed the guy with the glasses."

"Ryugazaki-kun."

"Mm?"

Momotarou, instead of breathing, continued to suck out the juice from his gun. What had Nagisa said? Ten packets per weapon?

"His name is Rei Ryugazaki. The blonde one is Nagisa Hazuki...you should remember their names."

"Mmmm'ay."

Nitori looked over, watching as Momotarou just...didn't _stop_. With a small bit of exasperation, he yanked the gun away, watching as it slipped away from the boy's mouth.

"Rin-senpai said to stop drinking that."

"But it's _good_! Try some, Senpai!"

"It's water from the river and Kool-aid. You're going to get sick."

" _Naaah_ , people drank from the river all the time, back in the day!"

"What 'day'...?"

"Ya know, _t_ _he day_! With all the sword-fights and samurai and all that awesome crap!"

"..."

Momotarou suddenly stopped, eyes bulging open as he looked at his gun, holding it as if it were a sacred sword, the weapon lying flat on his palms.

"I'm drinking from the _same river_ that the great warriors of the past drank from... _I've become one with the spirits_."

"Momo—"

"Only _my_ river tastes better...the future is _awesome_!"

"..."

Nitori said nothing as Momotarou popped the barrel right back to his mouth and drank away...was he a bad senpai for hoping he would learn a lesson from it? Probably not, but once again, he yanked the gun away, holding it high as Momotarou struggled to grab it back.

"You need to stop drinking your ammo!"

"But I hafta be one with the _warrioooooors_!"

. . .

"If you don't stop, I'll tell Rin-senpai."

"..."

"And you know who Rin-senpai will tell?"

. . .

Momotarou gasped, covering his mouth.

" _He wouldn't_!"

"He would. He probably doesn't want his sister dating someone who drinks ammo, so he'd warn her not to—"

" _I'll stop_ , _I'll stop_ , _I promise_!"

The desperate cries sounded out, and the grasping hands were now clasped together, pleading for Nitori to keep his word, and it was only after a few more seconds did he give in and return the gun. Momotarou looked close to tears, sniffling as he mumbled "Sorry, warriors. This is for Gou-san."

Gou Matsuoka; the ultimate weapon against Momotarou Mikoshiba.

Forgive him, Rin-senpai. Nitori had to do whatever worked to stay sane.

. . . . . . .

"Are you sure you're alright out here?"

Makoto's voice was concerned but light, looking up at the lifeguard's chair with a smile, rain running down his face. He'd been walking for quite awhile, and he'd decided to stop when he thought his shoes might melt away from his feet. He'd just so happened to find the clearing again, and there was Gou, sitting under her umbrella with a small grin on her face.

"I sort of thought this might happen, so I came prepared."

She pointed upward to the red umbrella that protected her, safe and stable in a small stand that was attached to the chair, and Makoto laughed.

"That was smart of you."

"Thank you. Are... _you_ alright?"

She laughed nervously as she asked the question, covering her mouth with her hand and feeling bad. Makoto was just standing there, getting rained on, but smiling all the same.

"Could be better...I think we're all having a good time out here."

"Where's Haruka-senpai?"

"Ah...we split up. I'm supposed to be finding Nagisa and Rei right now, but..."

He hesitated before pointing up at the sky, and Gou giggled.

"They passed through here a little while ago," she said.

"They did?"

Gou nodded, smiling brightly.

"Maybe fifteen minutes ago. I think I heard Rei-kun trying to convince Nagisa-kun to find some place to rest...I don't blame them."

"Neither do I...well, thank you! I know where to look now."

Makoto raised a hand in goodbye, turning and heading off before he heard a stuttered " _Wait_!" behind him. He looked back to Gou, who was wide-eyed and disbelieving.

"Are you going back out there?"

"...well...yes. I have to find them."

"But you're wet."

. . .

Makoto froze when he saw Gou gesture him back, waving her hand toward herself, and he found that he couldn't do anything other than obey, trudging back toward the lifeguard chair, his shoes seeping water.

The moment he stepped under the umbrella, the rain pelting his head stopped, and he sighed in relief. Gou laughed again, looking at him, her hands folded in her lap.

"Thank you..."

"If you wanted to rest, you could have asked."

Makoto laughed, waving a hand dismissively, his gun resting at his side.

"No, I couldn't have. You're busy being War-Master, and—"

"Ha. ' _Busy_.' I've been sitting here for almost two hours. I guess I should be glad no one's gotten hurt, but it's sorta boring..."

"..."

The two were quiet, listening to the rain. At one point, Gou started humming a song, and Makoto thought he might have known it, but he didn't say anything.

. . .

"Thank you, again."

"It's no trouble. As War-Master, I say you can rest here until the rain lets up. And you have immunity while you're with me."

Makoto laughed again, this time with amusement as he looked up at Gou. She looked so cute right now, her small pink lips turned up happily. He hadn't ever really noticed it before, or at least, not in this light. Gou had always been...well, pretty, but it was really only during times like these, away from school or competitions, did that fact make itself present.

"Can you grant immunity?"

"I'm the War-Master, aren't I?"

. . .

The two laughed again, a quiet sound that was nearly smothered by the storm.


End file.
